Thompson...

Given that Fred Thompson might jump in, all I have to say is, are we going to have eleven candidates in the debates now? I suppose he can take Ron Paul's place. But I actually sort of enjoy having something to contrast the current candidates with. I fear Thompson will be much like McCain, in substance, but without the drive to President. Of course, he will run on his moderate positions on abortion and as an original sponsor of McCain-Feingold, campaign finance reform.

Apparently, Romney was just asked about this: "'All I can say is, 'Come on in, the water's fine,'' Romney said in a Des Moines interview."

"Romney disagreed with pundits who said Thompson's relatively good standing in polls reflected Republican voters' dissatisfaction with the slate of announced candidates."

"'I think it reflects instead that he's a well-known and respected person,' Romney said. 'He was a U.S. senator for a couple of terms, and you know, once a week we see him put away bad guys on TV.'"

Romney Picks up Key Endorsement...

Actor Ben Affleck has, well not exactly endorsed, but predicted Romney for the GOP nomination.

“He says he doesn’t like abortion and he’s all clean-cut and he looks like a Ken doll,” said Affleck who was doing a rather amusing imitation of our ex-gov during the Romney rant.

“The Mormonism thing is really suspect,” he added, “but they’ll take it at this point. I mean, who else do they have? Crazy (Rudy) Giuliani and (John) McCain who’s completely insane? They don’t have any other options.”

Well said Ben. Well said.

National Polling...

Some significant polling from Rasmussen. A lot of people have been skeptical of Romney' s leads in Iowa and New Hampshire because he continues to trail in national polling. I think that will continue to change.

Giuliani 25%
Romney 16%
McCain 15%

In Private...

I have an idea, lets elect a President who we can all be proud of when word about what is being said behind closed doors gets out. I still remember my mother talking about the Nixon tapes being released. She had supported Nixon up until that point. When she heard him talking that way, she changed her mind. It was, of course, a hidden side she had never seen before.

Who can beat Hillary?: Romney!

Many have consternated over whether Romney can beat Hillary in the general election. I think the answer is a resounding yes. In fact, Romney is in a statistical tie with Hillary in the recent Rasmussen Report and is gaining ground. All of this, in spite of the fact that a substantial percentage of voters still don't know enough to even render a favorable/unfavorable opinion about him. The answer to the familiar querie, who can beat Hillary?: The best candidate, Mitt Romney, can.

Thanks to Californian's for Mitt Romney for President 2008 for the link.

I like Mitt Romney on Immigration...

Shattered the Goal...

Well, we did it. Well, not much me. Mitt did it! He managed to pull off signing over 24,000 volunteers up since yesterday. Really, that is extraordinary. Check out www.mittromney.com for the details.

In other news, Romney is leading in Iowa. Read about it at My Man Mitt.

Sign up America...

Now is the time to visit www.mittromney.com and sign up as a supporter and if you can, donate any amount of money possible. We have 24 hours to sign up 24,000 new volunteers so when you have signed up, email all of your friends and encourage them to do the same.

The Republican debate in South Carolina tonight highlights the strength Mitt has and the need to push him more into the spotlight at this point. The pot shots taken by other candidates demonstrate Romney is becoming the candidate to beat. But Romney remains less well known nationally than McCain and Giuliani. He needs to get his message out to voters and you can help do that. Sign up today America!

Romney Stumping...

Mitt Romney talks about his vision in a recent Iowa visit. Video is sketchy at points but it is worth it:


Biggest applause for "Simpler, Smarter, Smaller" comment about government, and for Immigration doesn't make sense.

60 Minutes...

At 7:00pm ET/PT on Sunday night, Governor Romney and the Romney family will be featured on CBS' "60 Minutes with Mike Wallace." Make sure to watch Mitt on Sunday!

CNN on Sharpton and Mormons...

CNN summarizes the controversy about Al Sharpton saying the people who really believe in God would defeat Romney in the election. They do a good job discussing the issue and even give a fairly accurate basic description, from what I know, of Mormon beliefs in the article. The article included this interesting quote from James Carville:

"'The main point here is that Mormons have served this country honorably and with integrity for a long, long time, and ... it would be a very big mistake not to vote for someone based on their faith -- Mormon faith or any other faith'."

New TV Ad...

Some Nevada News...

Romney seems to be polling strong in Nevada.

Another Assemblyman is on board.

Regents University Speech...

"Mitt Romney... urged Regent University graduates Saturday to seek the rougher but more satisfying 'deep waters' of life. But along the way, he may have picked up a vote."

Quick article here.

Hannity and Colmes Tonight...

Monday, May 07, 2007

At 9:00pm EDT tonight, Governor Romney will be a live, in-studio guest on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes." Make sure to watch Mitt tonight on Fox News Channel!

Leading in new Hampshire...

Romney is proving himself and it is bring results.

"According to a SurveyUSA poll of 551 likely Republican Primary voters, Mitt Romney gathered 32%, followed by Rudy Guiliani at 23% and John McCain with 22%. Fred Thompson finished fourth with 11%."

"Compared to a similar poll released in January, Giuliani and McCain have each lost 10 points. Romney is up 11 points, resulting in a 21-point swing for Romney among likely GOP Primary voters."

My Man Mitt has the ground game info for New Hampshire.

The Debate is Great...

I really enjoyed the debate tonight. Romney starting to hone his message. On point, not meandering. Speaking very clearly. Military, Economy, and Families. If you care about those issues, you have found your candidate.

The Debate...

The First Republican Debate coming from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley will be on MSNBC tonight at 8:00 pm Eastern time.

Some thoughts from Politico on the debate.

Tonight Show Review...

Nice review of Mitt's Tonight Show appearance last night at NewsMax.

"As for his image of being 'a cardboard cut-out' of a 'too-perfect' candidate, Romney said his family may differ with that description."

"'I am far from perfect,' Romney said. 'I can kick back and have a good time, but you’re not going to hear about it.'"

"'What goes on in Disneyland, stays in Disneyland,' he said."

Reminder About Tonight...

Sign up America...

On May 15th... the Romney campaign is encouraging people to take action and sign up 24,000 new supporters. To help jump start this effort they have invited fans across the country to host "Sign-up America" parties on the night of the South Carolina debates (May 15th.) Click here for more information.

Books...

I have heard Romney asked about and talk about tons of books that he has read or consider interesting. Now there is discussion because he read "Battlefield Earth" and found it an enjoyable read. It is obvious he is not taking it too seriously but he is being bashed nonetheless.

I can think of quite a few books that I may be attacked for reading and enjoying. What of the Heinlein novels I read? I even read the Hare Krishna book I was handed in the airport. I enjoyed reading Heidegger. Didn't he get caught up with the Nazi's later? So, even if I disagree with his very bad decisions in life, am I no longer able to think about his philosophy? Does reading martin Buber and Albert Schweitzer make up for the other books? I don't know but I find the whole discussion rather silly. It is something I think mainstream voters could care less about and opponents of Romney are just looking for anything to poke Romney with.

The Hunt for Osama...

Recently, there has been some roe over Romney's remark that "it's not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person." He emphasized that there needed to be a wider strategy because someone would replace him even if he were captured. He was right.

McCain felt obliged to respond saying, "[I]t takes a degree of naivete to think he’s [bin Laden] not an element in the struggle against radical Islam." McCain would be right, if thats what Mitt was saying.

All of this is a long way of saying, McCain is unnecessarily trying to attack Romney when Romney was clearly right, and I would hope that McCain, of all people, recognizes that there is a borader fight here. Resources are limited and need to be employed in a smart way in order to ensure the greatest propbability of success.

Jay Leno...

Romney is scheduled to appear on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tomorrow night, Wednesday, may 2nd. The show airs at 11:30pm eastern and pacific time and 10:30pm mountain time.